This blog is devoted to exploring the 'NATURAL BEAUTY OF SRI LANKA. My interests are photography, archaeology and ancient history.
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Saturday, January 4, 2014

Overshadowed by the glamour of the Sigiriya rock
fortress, the equally ancient Pidurangala cave temple is neglected by the
authorities as well as visitors

Sigiri Pidurangala Raja
Maha Viharaya is just a short distance from theSigiriyaRock
fortress. Although its origins date back to the same period this site does not
share the same glamour and renown ofSigiriya.

Not even 10 percent of
the visitors who flock toSigiriya, spare a glance at this ancient shrine.

Located down a dusty
gravel track off the road leading toSigiriya, the Pidurangala monastery, according to Dhaniyagama
Ananda Thera, the chief priest of the temple, was built by King Kashyapa in the
5th Century A.D.

"There is a strong
connection betweenSigiriyaand
Pidurangala," Ananda Thera says. "Sigiriyais only
a kingdom. King Kashyapa's religious service is seen at Pidurangala. Kashyapa
is known for the patricide he committed but his good works are forgotten. A
tour ofSigiriyais
incomplete without visiting Pidurangala."

When Kashyapa discoveredSigiriya, there was a monastery where bhikkus lived and
meditated in the lower levels of the rock. Kashyapa built a new aramaya for
these bhikkus at the Pidurangala site nearby, before he started work on theSigiriyafortress.

Spread over 13 1/2 acres,
the monastery gave sanctuary to 500 meditating bhikkus. The monastery was said
to be 'panchavasa', complete with the five major ritual buildings, the Chapter
House, Image House, the Bodhiya (Bo tree), Chaitya and the Sangharamaya or
Sabha for the monks.

According to a legend
Bhikkhu Mahanama, the author of the Mahavamsa had lived at Pidurangala, Ananda
Thera said. There is a brief reference to this in the Mahavamsa.